Pages

Monday, June 11, 2012

Highlights from the National Soda Summit

Last week, Prevention Services Division (PSD) division
director Chris Lindley and PSD law and policy manager Susan Motika attended the
first ever national Soda Summit, in
Washington D.C. Sponsored by the Center
for Science in the Public Interest, the two day event featured leading policy
makers and public health leaders seeking to reduce soda and sugar consumption
in America.

Motika summarizes the Summit for Colorado public health and partners in her Soda Summit Summary.

Soda Summit Summary

New York City Public Health Commissioner Thomas Farley

New York City Public Health Commissioner Thomas Farley
featured prominently on the agenda, explaining why New York Mayor Michael
Bloomberg is pushing to limit the size of a soda serving to 16 ounces at
restaurants, delis, sports arenas and movie theaters. New York
City’s latest foray into food policy regulation was unsurprising to
Chris Lindley: “New York public health has always blazed a
trail for the rest of the nation,” he observed. Below
are highlights from Farley’s address, From
Supersized to Human Sized: Reintroducing
Reasonable Portions of Sugary Drunks in New
York City.

Why New York City cares about obesity

Farley
estimated that in New York,
5,800 deaths per year are attributed to obesity.

One in
eight residents has Type 2 diabetes

There
are 2,600 amputations per year related to diabetes

Sugar
drink consumption in New York
is “strongly correlated” with obesity in the neighborhoods.

Portion size drives consumption

Farley
said that people given larger portions tend to consume them.

He tracked
the historical growth of portion sizes:

A
Coke ad from the 1950’s said that 16 ounces could serve three people.

In
1955 McDonald’s had a 7 ounce drink size.

Now
a McDonald’s child size is 12 ounces.

However,
in some countries outside the U.S., McDonald’s features
smaller soda serving sizes.

Hope is that consumers
will think twice

The
limit on serving sizes does not restrict customers from purchasing additional
servings serving.

It’s
designed to help consumers pause and ask themselves, “Are you sure? Do you really want that?”

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter’s Keynote Address

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, who has twice proposed
soda taxes in his city, provided the keynote address at the Soda Summit. Learning from the Surgeon General’s 1964
Report, Smoking and Health, which was
catalytic for the tobacco control movement, Nutter called for the Surgeon
General to issue a report about sugary drinks’ impact on the body.

Nutter’s work to limit access to sugary drinks is driven by Philadelphia’s grim statistics
on obesity and chronic disease. In Philadelphia:

Two-thirds
of adults and 40% of children are overweight or obese.

In
some neighborhoods, more than half the children are overweight or obese.

African
American children have a 15% higher prevalence of obesity than white
children.

Hispanic
children are 25% more likely than white children to be overweight or obese.

Nearly
half of all African American adults have hypertension and 20% have
diabetes.

Obesity
leads to the loss of $1 billion annually in productivity for Philadelphia
businesses.

Children
drink one to two sugary drinks per day with African American children
consuming significantly more than white children

Two tax measures
proposed

Mayor Nutter sees taxes and regulations on sugar sweetened
beverages (SSB) as part of a “multi-pronged approach” to decrease sugary drink
consumption. “Education, taxation, and
increased access to healthier options have to all be part of the discussion,”
he explained.

During 2010, he proposed a sugar sweetened beverage tax of
two-cents per ounce. “My hope was to
impose a tax on retailers based on annual sales volume,” Nutter said, which could have generated $77
million annually to combat obesity. The
measure came close to passage that year.

In 2011, with Philadelphia’s
public school system facing a steep budget shortfall, he reintroduced the SSB
tax – this time aimed at distributors.
Again, the tax faced “determined opposition” from the beverage and the
proposal was not put to a vote of the city council.

The two tax campaigns were not without benefits, Nutter
said. “We created a dialogue about the tough decisions that have to be made to
protect the health of our children and the productivity of our workforce. We
also saw that powerful interests would not sit back when the status quo is
threatened.”

Arguments against
taxation: a point-counterpoint

Nutter countered the industry’s main objections to an SSB
tax:

Soda has not been
conclusively connected to a rise in obesity rates

Soda has no nutritional benefits; the extra calories sugary
beverages inject into the American diet turn into extra pounds over time.

A sugar sweetened
beverage tax or large serving soda ban negatively affects the personal
liberties of low income individuals.

Governments want to create and promote policies that
encourage citizens to make conscious and well informed decisions about the
health impact of what they are buying for themselves, their families and
children.

By putting a soda
tax into effect, people will consume less product resulting in layoffs by the
soda industry and increasing unemployment.

Delivery trucks will still need drivers and packaging plans
will still need workers, whether it is for 5,000 cases of soda or 5,000 cases
of water or 5,000 cases of low-sugar or no-sugar products. People will still be thirsty and drinks will
still need to be delivered and will still be sold and bought.

“Get Healthy Philly”

With no soda tax, Philadelphia was still left with
burgeoning obesity rates and no comprehensive response to this serious public
health problem. “Get Healthy Philly,”
funded through federal stimulus dollars, is a multi-sector initiative to
address obesity through policy and systems change. Nutter cited the following outcomes:

More
than 90 schools have replaced candy bars with healthy foods.

Food
and fitness standards have been developed for 300 after school programs
affecting more than 20,000 low income students.

The Menu Labeling Law provides
Philadelphians critical information about calories, sodium, fat and
carbs. Nutter said that nearly 40%
of customers have said this information leads them to make healthier
decisions.

Philly Food Bucks allows low income
Philadelphians who use food stamps to receive a $2 Philly Food Buck coupon
for every $5 they spend at a farmers market.

Nutter said that of all the things he’s done, making
Philadelphia smoke free was “far and away the best thing I’ve ever done.”

On the leadership challenges of public service, he observed
that many elected officials get “caught up in the trappings” and focus on how
they keep the job rather than on doing the job.
“I love my job but I am going to do my job. . . If you have a deep
seated need to be loved and admired this is not the job for you – go work in a
pet shop.”

He said that he had only been worried about his career, he
may not have taken on the tobacco issue as a city councilor.

Cited by Time
magazine as a leading “warrior” in the area of nutrition and public policy, Kelly
Brownell began by referencing the beverage industry’s recent full page ads in
the Washington Post in response to New
York City’s proposal to limit the size of soda servings. “We’re at an interesting point in history,”
Brownell observed.

People
don’t lessen their food intake as a result of consuming SSBs and thus
consume more calories than they need.

Sugar
may be addictive.

SSB
marketing targets vulnerable populations.

There’s
“rock solid” proof of harm from SSB consumption.

Can food be
addictive?

Brownell said that a new study, about to be released,
addresses this topic. In general:

“Hyper
palatable” foods activate the same brain reward system as heroin, causing
withdrawal and cravings.

People
may need more of the substance to get the reward.

Brownell’s
prediction of industry responses to the linkage of food and addiction

·Plant doubt.

·Call studies “junk science.”

·Attack scientists as biased.

·Buy scientists to do negative studies.

·Pass “shield laws” to reduce exposure.

Looking ahead

Looking ahead five to 10 years, Brownell predicted that the
food addiction discussion would become prominent; local, state and federal
taxes on SSBs would be implemented; litigation, including multi-state
litigation by state attorneys general would be commenced; SSBs would be
eliminated in schools, preschools and governments; and that SSB consumption
would decline.